At first glance, to be “homeless” is to be without a place/ shelter to live in. However, the issues surrounding the reason for someone to become homeless and the other issues attached with not having a permanent shelter are complex. Homelessness does not have just one straight definition due to the fact that there are varying extremes. For this reason, homelessness has been broken down into three main types.
Types of Homelessness
A homeless man living on the streets in the USA
Absolute Homelessness: A person who has no access to safe and affordable housing. This includes those "living rough", which means to live in places such as outside in parks and doorways. These are the stereotypical homeless people seen begging or sleeping in the streets.
Concealed Homelessness: People without access to affordable housing but who don't fit the stereotype. These people generally try and live a regular life without a proper home or even possibly necessities. They generally hold a regular (low paying) job, living their day life as any non-homeless person might. They try and hide the fact that they are in fact homeless, making it as unknown as possible that they are living out of motels, hostels, squats etc.
At Risk Homelessness: People who are on the brink of homelessness and are living life day to day. These are generally individuals or families who do not live in safe or clean housing and can barely afford rent (those who spent more than 50% of their income on housing alone) or who are not being treated with proper respect to safety (abuse or absence of care/ability towards creating a safe environment).
Who Is Affected?
A homeless family living out of a car
Homelessness is an extremely serious issue in our world today with more and more people living without homes and relying on begging and crime to feed themselves. Most people who see homelessness every day, do not understand what it is like to be homeless and don't recognize how serious it is and how many people are truly affected by homelessness. People at risk are affected by it, the people giving money are affected; politicians and governments, communities, businesses, families and the homeless themselves are all affected. It is an issue that expands to affect the entire population and we are constantly overlooking the issue. Homelessness is extremely difficult to escape and aid programs are put in place but are often too small to get help to any significant number of people, or the homeless themselves are unwilling to obtain help. Mental illness and drug and alcohol addictions create a further handicap from which can make taking a step in the right direction, towards a better life, often extremely difficult. It is an issue that touches everyone, be it by walking by a beggar or through a family connection, homelessness is an increasing issue that every nation should create strong prevention and aid measures for. Homelessness is a serious issue that deserves more thought and money than it is currently receiving and people should respect and understand the problems that the homeless are facing because you never know when it could happen to you.
Canada's Homelessness Statistics
Canada 14,145 (total)
Ontario 6,100
Quebec 3,365
Alberta 1,935
British Columbia 1,085
Manitoba 885
New Brunswick 265
Saskatchewan 255
Nova Scotia 165
Newfoundland and Labrador 45
Northwest Territories 20
Yukon Territory 15
Prince Edward Island 5
Nunavut 5
Statistics
An estimated 100 million people worldwide are homeless, while over a billion lack sufficient housing
There are 200,000 homeless people in Canada
In Brazil, there is a deficit of 6.6 million housing units, equalling 20 million homeless people, who live in favelas, shared clandestine rooms, hovels or under bridges and viaducts, or are squatters, in some of the country's largest cities
The average life expectancy of a homeless person in the UK is 42 years, compared to the national average of 74 for men and 79 for women
The Philippines has a total population of 82 million people, 40% live in slums
Over a five-year period, about 2–3 percent of the U.S. population (5–8 million people) will experience at least one night of homelessness.
Homelessness
At first glance, to be “homeless” is to be without a place/ shelter to live in. However, the issues surrounding the reason for someone to become homeless and the other issues attached with not having a permanent shelter are complex. Homelessness does not have just one straight definition due to the fact that there are varying extremes. For this reason, homelessness has been broken down into three main types.
Types of Homelessness
Concealed Homelessness: People without access to affordable housing but who don't fit the stereotype. These people generally try and live a regular life without a proper home or even possibly necessities. They generally hold a regular (low paying) job, living their day life as any non-homeless person might. They try and hide the fact that they are in fact homeless, making it as unknown as possible that they are living out of motels, hostels, squats etc.
At Risk Homelessness: People who are on the brink of homelessness and are living life day to day. These are generally individuals or families who do not live in safe or clean housing and can barely afford rent (those who spent more than 50% of their income on housing alone) or who are not being treated with proper respect to safety (abuse or absence of care/ability towards creating a safe environment).
Who Is Affected?
Canada's Homelessness Statistics
Statistics
Works Cited
http://www3.homelessworldcup.org/content/homelessness-statistics